Welcome to the written depiction of my Namibian Experience with the Peace Corps! This blog will document the crazy adventure that I have embarked upon. I hope this blog will serve as a means to keep my family and friends updated on my adventures in Namibia, as well as, aid future volunteers in any way possible.
This year I will be a facilitator at Camp GLOW. What is Camp GLOW you ask? (I'm so glad you asked)
GLOW stands for Guys and Girls Leading Our World. Camp Glow is a week long camp for Namibian children aged 12-18 hosted every year by Peace Corps Namibia, Fawena and KAYEC (the NGO I work with here). Everyday of the camp focuses on a different theme: Character building day, team building and gender awareness day, health day, future day, leadership day (this is the day I will be co-facilitating), and self discovery day. The camp will be held in Windhoek during the August school holiday and will include trips to parliament and the University of Namibia.
80 children are chosen from all over Namibia to partake in this one week extravaganza. The children are chosen based on nominations from Peace Corps Volunteers and the other stakeholders. (Seeing as I work with over 300 hundred children A DAY, it was really, REALLY difficult for me to narrow my nominations down to my 5 allotted slots. heart wrenching, it was.) Most kids in Namibia haven't even been out of the village/town they were born in. They may very well be natural leaders from birth, but if no one notices and gives them a chance, they'll never be able to put that fundamentally innate charisma into play for the betterment of Namibia as a whole. At GLOW these kids are given an opportunity. Maybe THE opportunity they need to make a difference.
Now, like most things wonderful, Camp GLOW is made possible in a large part due to donations. These donations cover everything from food, materials, and accommodation to transportation, admin and much more. Unfortunately we have not quite reached our goal for donations this year.
But no fear! YOU can help :)
And quite truthfully anything is useful (1 USD = approx. 10 NAD)
If you're interested in making a contribution click this heart -----> <3
If you'd just like to read up on your GLOW knowledge.
so this post is going to be more of a rant than anything else because this is about something that drives me crazy almost every single day over here.
The word Nigger. or Nigga.
Yes. I used the actual words. I know that's asking for a beating, but A) I'm in Africa and B) I use those terms because those are the terms my kids (and the general community) over here use so often because they don't understand the difference. Because no one ever taught them what the word means in the first place.
As Americans we don't realize the effect we have on other people/cultures/behaviors around the ENTIRE world. I never realized this until I came here, but it's really unbelievable how far our influence can stretch, whether we mean for it to or not.
Now, I understand the importance behind the black communities in America taking back the word and making it their own. I mean... I understand as much as a white, straight, woman who's never been suppressed enough to have to take back a negative term and make it my own can. But these kids and communities over here just see our movies and see our celebrities saying these things and they have no idea what it means. They're blind to the significance and the weight of the history behind what's being said. All they know is that the cool black guy in the movie who they look up to says it so it must just be something that cool people say.
We are literally breeding ignorance in other countries because we're ignorant of our own influence.
Whenever I hear someone say it over here, I simply ask, "Do you know what the word means?" The answer is always no. I then begin to give them a short history lesson on the weight that word contains, which is so hard to sum up in a few short minutes.
I know this is something that will most likely never change. But if you're a Black American (or even a really brave/stupid non-Black American) who uses that word, next time you say it stop and think about the people on the other side of the globe and the ignorance that's there because of us.
Rant over. Just think about it.
Ps. As I'm about to post this blog a group of Namibian 8th graders comes into my English class room saying, "what up, niggers" and everyone laughs. It breaks my heart. It really does.
Recently, one of my good friends over here (Amy Farrah Fowler from the previous post) heard my story and declared that it needed to be shared.
I never planned on college after high school. Honestly, I didn't think there was any way I would ever have the skills to actually graduate. I truly thought I wasn't smart enough. I figured trying would only end up as a waste of time, waste of money, and in the end it would steal the meager amount of confidence I couldn't afford to lose. However, I've always been somewhat of a forward thinker and around my junior year of high school I started doing some serious searching for what my life would be once I crossed the stage. I've always had a passion for traveling and absorbing other cultures, so naturally I was looking into working on cruise ships/airlines.
It was around this time my dad mentioned the Peace Corps to me. I still don't know if this was a strategic move on his part or just blind luck. You see, education is a strong passion of my father's and he has always encouraged his kids to go as far as they can where education is concerned. I think it was really hard for him to hear that I didn't even want to try after high school. Once I started researching the Peace Corps and attended a conference hosted by a recruiter who was a previous volunteer himself, I learned that (in most cases) you have to have a degree. I didn't know it at the time, but learning that information would ultimately change the course of my life.
Que the drama. Seeing as this story is set in high school, you didn't think it would be anything other than dramatic, did you? Well, I hope you're ready.
My sophomore year I joined our school's gymnastic team, despite the evil hag of a coach I had to endure. This woman was truly the second most awful human being I've ever met (and believe me, I've met my fair share of monstrous human beings). She actually encouraged us to be anorexic. Making snide comments about our weight. Like you're not already self-conscious enough as a high school female?? I remember one time, one of my teammates asked her how you get rid of love handles. Can you believe the complete waste of human skin said, "push away from the table"?! I repeat: hag.
Anyway. Now that you understand how truly awful she was, I can continue. The first semester of my senior year the hag started spreading rumors about me. I have this genetic skin condition that causes sores from time to time. it was especially awful during adolescence, obviously. Puberty is a cruel mistress. Well the hag took it upon herself to go to the school counselor and they collectively decided that I must get a note from a doctor that I'm not contagious before I'm allowed to come back to school. Lovely. I'm standing in line at lunch time to get my last homecoming dance ticket when I see my step mom walking toward me with the counselor in her shadow. Naturally, I'm completely confused. I end up being out of school for three days so I can get an appointment and get a piece of paper stating something that we all already knew. Hag.
Once I was deemed eligible to return to class, I learned that while I was out the hag decided to tell the rest of the gymnastics team some very disturbing, very untrue things about me. Like I have staph infection (this part was actually kind of true). Like I'm highly contagious. Like if I were to get on a piece of gymnastics equipment and then one of my teammates got on the same equipment, they could get staph from me. and it could KILL THEM. Seriously. Awesome. I immediately went to the office and called my dad. He was LIVID.
I soon became a social pariah. I mean... the other kids literally thought I could kill them. This is not what I needed. I was already struggling with severe depression. Great. Now I'm the best super villain that's never existed and can kill people by simply existing. hag.
I'll save you from the long drawn out process, but after much deliberation and consideration, my dad made a deal with me. He said that he would sign the dropout papers if I got my GED and at least made it through one semester of college. We shook on it.
The next day my dad and I were at the school talking to the principal and filling out the papers. Dad wanted to sue the school, the hag and everyone involved but I told him not to worry about it. We didn't really have the money for that kind of court case anyway. And besides. I'm a true believer in Karma.
When I went back to turn in my books I went by the hag's office to pick up my gymnastics t-shirt that I had already paid for. Can you believe the hag hugged me. She actually friggin hugged me. I should have pulled her close and whispered into her ear, "I've infected you. You will die in three days." Idiot.
I dropped out of high school in November 2006. I got my GED and was enrolled in community college by January 2007. In 2011 I crossed the stage for the first time with my Bachelor's of Social Work. In 2012 I made my second walk for my Master's of Social Work. I was officially accepted into the Peace Corps program in December 2012 and was sworn in as a volunteer on May 7, 2013.
